Rabbit with a Red Pen Is Five!
Rabbit with a Red Pen is officially five years old! On June 4, 2019, my business license was approved by my state, and I dove into the world of being an editorial business owner. There’s no way to truly capture what these past five years have meant to me, but to celebrate this milestone, I’m going to try my best (and eat a tiny chocolate cheesecake).
Five lessons learned
I’ve learned more than five lessons since starting my business, some more painful than others, but there are overarching themes that I’m reminded of often. And just because I’ve technically learned these lessons doesn’t mean I’m not having to actively remind myself of them or change my mindset to undo what’s long been ingrained in me.
Success isn’t always measured in money. Leaving a salaried job with a steady paycheck to venture out on my own as a freelance editor hasn’t been easy when it comes to money. After five years of working for myself, I still struggle when I see upcoming gaps in my schedule or if I don’t make as much during the year as projected. But I’ve learned that my success isn’t always about how much money I make. Of course it’s important—I have bills to pay—but that single metric isn’t what defines me or my business. Success also means how many authors I’ve helped, how many people have learned something from a presentation I’ve given or a blog post I’ve published, how many clients I get through word of mouth, how many editors I’ve formed meaningful relationships with, whether I can donate my time or money to worthy causes, the warm fuzzies I get from working on a project, and so much more.
I might work alone, but I’m not in it alone. Before I became an editor, I worked as a social worker in a memory care community. I was surrounded by a hundred people (literally) every day, and my job was to talk to people, face-to-face. As exhausting as it could be, I loved being around people I cared about day in and day out. So when I left my job and started to work from home as an editor, I was lonely. I didn’t know other editors, so there was no one to ask for advice or commiserate with. I slowly met people online through social media interactions, and my network began to grow. Over time, I learned which online editing spaces I was comfortable in, and now I have trusted friends and colleagues to chat with daily. Even though I work at home in a solo business, I know I can turn to my edibuddies for a sense of community, and I cherish the relationships I’ve formed.
I can be personable without being a pushover. My desire to be liked is strong. I want to be seen as nice, accommodating, fair, easy to work with, and any number of positive adjectives. Sometimes that leads me down a path of compromising what works best for me because I think something I might otherwise suggest will seem unfavorable to the person I’m talking to (fee, start date, turnaround time, scope, etc.). But I’ve learned that I tend to negotiate with myself before I even bring the conversation to the other person. I might think, “Hmm, maybe that price is too high. I should lower it to X.” or “If I suggest a start date that’s not until 2 months from now, they’ll never say yes, so I could squeeze it in sooner even if it means pushing myself harder.” Over the years, I’ve had to tell myself that I can be professional, friendly, and flexible to an extent, but at the end of the day, I have to make sure I’m meeting my needs first.
I’m doing my own thing, just as other editors are doing theirs. I often fall into the trap of comparing myself to others, and social media makes this one especially difficult for me. I know it’s pointless to do, and I know that social media usually only shows the shiny, exciting things, yet when I see the work that other editors are doing, the content they’re putting out, and the full schedules they’re posting, I can’t always shut out the feelings that come with it. But I know that I’m over here doing my own thing, and while I’m doing that thing, I can be happy for all the editors who are doing their thing too.
I'm human. I mean, no surprise there, but in this context I'm referring to the fact that I'm imperfect in many ways. As an editor or proofreader, I might miss errors or introduce some into the text (the worst feeling). As an authenticity reader and conscious language advocate and educator, I may say or do the wrong thing. As a business owner, I may agree to take on a project I'm not well suited for because I didn't screen it properly, or I might not realize I need to file my taxes by March 15 instead of April 15 (oops). These things happen. But more often than not, I'm great at what I do, and my mistakes and missteps don't define who I am. They may be the stuff of nightmares for a while, but they help me be better equipped and more humble in the future.
Five surreal moments
There have been quite a few “Is this my life?” moments, and my win jar reflects that. Here are some of the most surreal ones that come to mind when I think back.
Being invited onto The Editing Podcast to talk about sensitivity reading: When I first set out to become an editor, I googled something like “book editor” or “fiction editor,” and the first website that popped up was Louise Harnby’s. After endless hours of looking at her website, portfolio, and the vast library of resources she had available through her blog posts and courses, I decided that I wanted to be like Louise when I “grew up” into a real editor. I also quickly became a fan of The Editing Podcast, hosted by Louise and nonfiction editor Denise Cowle. One day I received a message inviting me to be on the podcast to talk about sensitivity reading, and I can’t even tell you how excited (and nervous) I was to chat with two of my editing heroes and be featured on something I was a fan of. Now I get to call them friends, and I’m still amazed by that.
Attending my first in-person editing conference: The 2022 ACES conference in San Antonio was my first in-person editing conference. By that point I had been active on social media for a while, presented multiple webinars, and was on the ACES board, so I was more visible within the editing community. At the conference, I got to see many editors I’d only ever talked to online, people stopped me and told me they followed me on social media, and I found out I had a fan (her words, not mine) who wanted to meet me. Talk about some unexpected and humbling moments.
Copyediting Karen Yin’s book about conscious language and style: It’s no secret that I’m a huge admirer of Karen Yin’s work with Conscious Style Guide. So when I received a message from the production editor asking if I wanted to copyedit her upcoming (at the time) book, The Conscious Style Guide: A Flexible Approach to Language That Includes, Respects, and Empowers, I may have freaked out in the best way. To be part of the team that put this book out into the world and see my name listed in the book credits was a career highlight.
Going to a bookstore and seeing books I’ve worked on: It’s a joyful feeling to walk into a bookstore and spot books I’ve worked on. If you had told the kid version of me that one day I’d be able to walk into a bookstore and find things I had a hand in creating, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Copyeditors, proofreaders, and authenticity readers may not always get acknowledged in books, but we’re an important part of the publishing process and take pride in what we do. (And it’s pretty dang cool to see my name in the acknowledgments of a book, I won’t lie.)
Seeing how many people visit my website: When I first launched my website, I had no idea whether people would find it, and if so, how many. It’s neat to see how many people have stumbled across my website over these past five years, most of whom find me through my blog posts. I don’t have the analytics prior to when I rebuilt my website a year ago, but this past year, I’ve averaged 3,000 unique visitors to my site each month. That number still blows my mind.
Five favorite blog posts
I’ve published a lot of blog posts over the years, not knowing if anyone would ever read them but writing them anyway. I used to publish a blog post every two weeks but later got too busy and burned out, to the point where now I write them pretty rarely (apologies to newer blog subscribers). My most popular one is about punctuating dialogue, but these are my favorites, in no particular order.
Bits of Editorial Wisdom: This post was a compilation of short bits of editing advice that people on Twitter shared with me. I loved collecting all this wisdom in one place—plus it was probably the easiest blog post I’ve ever published because I did so little of the writing.
Hyphens and Dashes, Video Game Style: I’m not sure why, but when I wrote this post on how to use hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes, I decided to give it a video game theme. I had a blast with this one because I got to share my gamer side with the world.
Confessions of a Former Grammar Stickler: After being an editor for a few years, I noticed I’d gone through a shift in how I viewed “correct” grammar. I got into the profession because I had a knack for fixing grammar, spelling, and punctuation, which I think is true for many editors—copyeditors and proofreaders in particular. But I found that the longer I worked as an editor, the more flexible and relaxed I became with “rules” and what’s “proper,” and I wanted to share why that was.
Becoming an Editor FAQ: I often receive DMs from aspiring editors with questions about how to get started, so I put this post together in response to those messages. I enjoyed putting all my knowledge about being an editor into this post, and now I get to link to it when someone asks me how they can become an editor.
What My Dog Taught Me About Running an Editing Business: [Content note: This snippet discusses the death of a pet.] This post is probably one of the most meaningful and emotional posts I’ve written. My dog Roxy had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, and I knew I wanted to publish some type of tribute to her on my blog after she died, so I came up with lessons she taught me about running my business. I channeled my anticipatory grief into writing that post, and it meant so much that I was able to share her memory with others.
Five favorite tweets
I joined Twitter shortly after I started my business because I figured I needed an online presence there. I had no idea what to say—after all, I was a new editor with no editor friends or connections—but I slowly started to find people to follow and engage with. After a while, I found my voice and was very active on the platform. Sometimes I’d share serious or what I hoped was helpful content, but I mostly tweeted the random thoughts that popped into my head about editing or being an editor.
I don’t think I could truly say that these are my five favorite tweets, but I think they sum up my time on Twitter pretty well.
“A reminder that many professional editors are *not* silently (or loudly) judging your grammar. We're often the ones advocating for flexibility and nuance in language, and the first to tell you that there's not always a right or wrong way.” July 21, 2021
“Oh, you're an editor, huh? Name all the grammar.” April 13, 2022
“Editing is just looking things up until you die.” April 17, 2021
“Before becoming an editor, I would think, ‘Wow, I found three errors in this novel. Did this get edited?’ Now that I know what editing and proofreading actually look like, I think, ‘Wow, I found only three errors in this entire novel. Kudos.’ September 24, 2022
“‘Pregnant people’ includes cis women.
‘Happy holidays’ includes Christmas.
‘Humankind’ includes men.
‘Spouses’ includes husbands and wives.
Using inclusive language in these ways doesn't erase the existence of privileged groups. It acknowledges that others are here too.” October 19, 2021 [Note: If I could redo this tweet, I would slightly adjust the wording, but the sentiment remains.]
Five graphics I’ve made
I’ve occasionally made graphics for social media, including joining in on memes, and here are five of my favorites.
This last graphic is based on a popular meme from The Legend of Zelda. The original text is “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.” I replaced the sword with a red pen.
Final thoughts
These last five years have been a whirlwind. I’ve worked with many amazing clients on many amazing projects, given presentations and spoken on podcasts, published the Conscious Language Toolkits for Editors and Writers, served two terms on the ACES board, created a self-paced course for the EFA, attended multiple editing and writing conferences, and met countless friends.
Thank you to all the clients, edibuddies, students, blog readers, social media followers, and supporters who have been part of the last five years with me. I’m excited for what’s in store!
